The double helix
The double helix is a non-fiction book by Nobel Prize winner James D. Watson , in which he tells the story of the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA , in which he himself played a major role and for which the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded, from his point of view. This non-fiction book, which has been translated into many languages and which has sparked fierce controversy, ranks 7th in the Modern Library's 100 Best Nonfiction, and the German translation is part of the ZEIT library of 100 non-fiction books .
content
The author James D. Watson begins by introducing the main protagonists Francis Crick , Maurice Wilkins , Rosalind Franklin and Linus Pauling . With a scholarship to study the biochemistry of the DNA molecule, he was initially in Copenhagen to learn biochemistry there. After seeing an X-ray crystallographic image of crystallized DNA at a conference in Naples , he decided to go to Cambridge , where X-ray structure analysis was an important research area under its founder and then Laboratory Director Lawrence Bragg . The book describes the two years that followed until the publication of the famous Nature article in April 1953, in which the complete structure of the molecule was described on two pages, as a race for the Nobel Prize (The Big One), with the strongest rival, Linus Pauling at Caltech , had entered the race with the suggestion of an alpha helix model . The DNA molecule was also examined radiologically by Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin, with whom a scientific exchange took place, at King's College London .
Watson and Crick, who shared an office in Cambridge, tried their hand at constructing chemical models made up of several chains, the number of which could initially only be guessed at between one and four. It was also unclear what should hold these chains together, initially salt bridges were suspected. A model with three chains was considered a breakthrough, but after examination of Wilkins and Franklin because of too many Mg ++ - ions rejected. A letter from Pauling to his son Peter Pauling, who was also studying at Cambridge, caused a stir because it announced the solution to the DNA problem, but when the manuscript arrived later, it quickly became clear that the three-chain helix described there lacked acid properties. The book says about this "blunder": "If a student had shot such a buck, he would have been considered incapable of profiting from the chemistry faculty at Caltech."
Watson vividly describes how, together with Crick, he intensified the work after Pauling's failed attempt, since Pauling would certainly do the same, and how they gradually approached their goal, not without setbacks. Chargaff's rules from the 1940s , according to which the bases adenine and thymine on the one hand and cytosine and guanine on the other hand, are equally common in the DNA samples examined, played an important role. At first, these four bases did not really fit into the model, especially not after it was concluded on the basis of a Franklin X-ray that the molecule must have two external, spiral chains. Finally, after considering tautomeric structures, it was possible to fit the two base pairs, each connected by hydrogen bonds , into the double-stranded model, taking into account complex stereochemical restrictions, so that only an X-ray structure analysis was needed. This finally led to the above-mentioned publication in "Nature".
criticism
Lawrence Bragg recommends in the preface he wrote: "Whoever appears in this book must read it in a very conciliatory mood". The very first chapter begins with the sentence "I have never seen Francis Crick humble". Furthermore, Crick's conspicuous laugh is disrespectfully described, as is an unsightly argument between Crick and Bragg about his alleged use of one of Crick's ideas at a later point. Watson is also not always considerate of other people and of himself. In the portrayal of Rosalind Franklin, Watson was accused of sexism , in particular the relationship between her and Wilkins, which was described as tense, met with rejection. In the epilogue Watson admits, in fact, that his "first (in this book held) impressions of it - have largely been proven wrong - both personally and in scientific terms."
Remarks
The book was initially scheduled to be titled The Honest Jim , but its publication was rejected by Harvard University Press due to protests from Crick, who knew the manuscript and was threatened with legal action . The New York Times ran a cover story, A book that couldn't go to Harvard . It then appeared in 1968 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson under the title The Double Helix with the subtitle A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (A personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA ). The first German translation was published by Rowohlt Verlag in 1969 and was number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list for 7 weeks in the same year . Thomas Kerstan included the book in his canon for the 21st century in 2018 , a selection of works that he believes "everyone should know".
The book was filmed in a BBC production in 1987 as “Life Story” (known in the USA as “The Race for the Double Helix”), directed by Mick Jackson with Jeff Goldblum in the role of Watsons, the German film title is “The Race to Glory ”.
Individual evidence
- ↑ James D. Watson: Die Doppelhelix , Rowohlt-Verlag, 20th edition (2007), ISBN 978-3-499-60255-9
- ↑ Modern Library, 100 Best Nonfiction ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Brenda Maddox: Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA , HarperCollins (2002), ISBN 0060184078
- ^ Max Hall: Harvard University Press: a history , Harvard Univ. Press (1986), ISBN 0-674-38080-0 , page 168
- ↑ Th. Kerstan: What our children need to know. A canon for the 21st century. Hamburg 2018. p. 11, 206f.
